Ciel's Inferno
by liketolaugh
Summary: Ciel has always wondered what Hell was like. He asks Sebastian and finds out, first-hand.


**A/N: This wasn't an idea so much as a... school assignment. But I figured it was all right to put it on here, I think it's good enough.**

**Title: Ciel's Inferno**

**Author: liketolaugh**

**Rating: T**

**Pairings: None**

**Genre: Horror**

**Warnings: Violence**

**Summary: Ciel has always wondered what Hell was like. He asks Sebastian and finds out, first-hand.  
**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, Black Butler is not mine.**

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Ciel sat on the edge of his bed and sighed, mind wandering. It had been four years since he, a mere ten years old at the time, had made a deal with a demon – Sebastian Michaelis. However, even then, there had been no doubt as to where he had been destined to go. As that same demon turned to face him, he looked at him, his single blue eye reflecting unease.

"Sebastian, what is Hell like?" Not liking the note of vulnerability in his voice, he added, more forcefully, "As a demon yourself, I expect you know its inner workings and such."

Sebastian smiled at his contracted master, crimson eyes sparkling with sadistic amusement. The smile exposed vicious fangs that glinted in the moonlight. "You wish to know of the fate which you so narrowly escaped, Young Master?"

"It isn't much of an escape when I will instead be entering a devil's stomach," Ciel sniped back, annoyed, as he tended to be.

Sebastian chuckled. "You truly wish to know?"

Ciel nodded, jaw set.

"If you so command it, my lord, I could take you there," Sebastian told him, dark amusement still present in his voice and in his face.

Ciel looked at him suspiciously. "And you can take me back out?"

Sebastian smirked, well aware that his master did not trust him not to simply leave him there. "Yes, my lord."

"Good." Ciel considered for a moment, then nodded firmly. "This is an order, Sebastian. You will take me to Hell and bring me safely back."

"Yes, my lord."

Sebastian bent and picked Ciel up, bridal style. Ciel squirmed slightly, trying to escape his grasp and scowling at him. Sebastian smirked and then jumped high into the night air.

It wasn't long before Sebastian finally returned to the ground, allowing Ciel to regain his feet and examine their surroundings.

"Where is it, then?" Ciel demanded, looking around. He couldn't see anything that could be identified as an entrance to Hell, but then, that was hardly surprising.

Sebastian indicated an unobtrusive cave with a mocking smile. "Just over there, my lord."

Ciel frowned but made his way over the rocky landscape toward it. Just before he entered, he turned and pinned Sebastian with an intense, cerulean gaze. "Remember," he said warningly. "The terms of the contract state that you must protect me from harm, even if it costs you your life. And that is what you will do. Is that understood?"

Sebastian smiled and got on one knee, bowing low before Ciel. "Yes, my young lord."

With that, they made their way into the inferno.

Upon spotting a sign, Ciel paused. "Through me the way into the suffering city. Through me the way to eternal pain." He paused, eyes scanning the sign, and then finished with, "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here."

Sebastian smirked, ruby eyes glittering, filling with sadistic mirth. "Are you frightened, Young Master?"

Ciel scoffed and turned away, marching forward without a backwards glance. "Of course not," he snapped. "Don't be absurd." But he could not deny the sharp chill that ran down his spine, and both of them knew that Ciel was not being entirely truthful.

"Of course," Sebastian replied smoothly. "My mistake."

They walked through the dark cave for what seemed to be a long time before a dim light approached. Sebastian's mouth twisted in distaste as they emerged in front of a raging river. Ciel took a closer look and inhaled sharply; what he had previously taken for a near blockage of rocks was actually an endless collection of souls, practically climbing on top of each other in order to reach the end of the river. "Who are they?"

"I believe you once stated, my lord, that you do not hesitate." It was not a question, but Ciel nodded absently, eyes still on the souls. As he watched, the current of the river changed, and the throng began to swim the other way, unwittingly shattering their own progression. "These are those who wasted their lives in hesitation." Sebastian picked Ciel up again and, in a single bound, cleared the river and set Ciel back on the ground on the other side. "Let us continue."

Ciel followed his demon servant through a maze of caverns and caves, and it was some time before they paused again. Though Sebastian had surpassed many caves from which cries echoed (one while covering Ciel's ears, explaining after that that had been the circle of Lust), he had yet to enter one. This time, however, he guided Ciel into the cave.

"Though the circles of Hell were once genuinely rings around the center," Sebastian explained. "The number of humans in each punishment, along with the variety of sins, have both grown so great as to necessitate each circle be a cave of its own, rather than a ring. I intend to show you those which I think will interest you most, Young Master."

"Good," Ciel murmured, examining the circle before him. "And what is this?"

Contrary to the cave's underground nature, the ceiling was open, and high above them were many sinners, balancing precariously on the tops of poles. Distantly, Ciel could make out the forms of some sort of bird, swooping down on each soul at irregular intervals to swipe at them. He opened his mouth to repeat the question, but closed it again as one soul was knocked from the pole, falling down to the ground far below. The soul impacted with the ground and, painfully slowly, dissolved as a pool of scarlet blood spread beneath it, only to reform at the top again, with at least three birds soaring down to attack it. This caused it to fall again, only to repeat the cycle, the crimson stain on the ground growing steadily.

"Can you not guess, Young Master?" Sebastian asked, far too cheerful. "This is the circle of Pride."

Ciel scowled at the demon. "Do you think you're being funny?"

"I thought you would like to see what your fate might otherwise have been," he replied, unrepentant. "The eagles perpetually attack the souls of the sinners, which are allowed no break in concentration, all of their focus on maintaining their lofty positions."

"Hmph," Ciel grumbled. "Move on, Sebastian. You have made your point."

"Yes, Young Master," chuckled Sebastian, turning and leading Ciel out of the cave and back into the maze of caverns. "This next one, I believe, will also be of interest."

"If you insist on trying to be funny again, you will be assigned to care of Pluto for a month," threatened Ciel, referring to the hellhound they had acquired some time ago.

Sebastian shuddered. He _hated _dogs. "Of course, my lord."

He finally led Ciel into yet another cave and nodded to the room. It was so dark that Ciel could not see, and he stepped in, wondering if that would allow him to see what was going on.

He jumped as, off to the side, he heard a thump and a snarl, followed by a cry of pain and something wet splattering his leg. He jumped back and bumped into something. Ciel turned and his eyes widened. He could just barely make out the form of a person, teeth bared and about to lash out. Just as the fist struck out, Sebastian appeared beside him, and his hand stopped the fist in its tracks.

Sebastian's eyes glowed an angry pinkish-red. "You will not harm my Young Master," he warned, voice conveying his power as a demon of high status. Ciel looked at the form he had previously assumed to be a damned soul and saw its eyes flash the same red as Sebastian's. It backed away with a nod, acknowledging Sebastian's higher status.

Sebastian looked down at Ciel, and then followed the demon as it turned away, stalking another passing soul, which didn't realize that it was being followed. Ciel gasped sharply as, out of nowhere, the demon sprang and ripped the soul to shreds, the shadow of an unmistakable dark liquid flying through the air and spattering across his face. His licked his lips nervously, tasting the coppery tang. The demon smirked and then walked away. Behind it, the shreds began to move, slowly reassembling into their previous form. Ciel backed away, retching uselessly. He felt Sebastian's hand on his arm, pulling him away from the gruesome sight and into the relative brightness of the rocky passage. He stumbled along and as they emerged, he braced himself against the wall, throwing up all he had eaten that day. Distantly, he heard Sebastian say a single word.

"Wrath."

Finally, he rose again, pale and a little shaky. He wiped his mouth and looked back at Sebastian, trying to ignore the blood on his face and legs. He nodded.

Silently, Sebastian led the way to their next destination. "This is the final one, my lord, and then we must return. It is long past time for you to retire, after all, and the Young Master has lessons tomorrow."

Ciel nodded tiredly and eyed the entrance to the next cave warily.

"Come, Young Master," said Sebastian. Ciel, after a moment of hesitation, followed him into the final cave of that day.

This cave was brightly lit, Ciel noted, unlike Wrath, and again he shivered. It was uncomfortably warm, and then his eyes landed on the souls.

Each one of them looked frightened. Tentative. He watched as one reached out to another, who reached back with wide eyes and a hopeful look. But as they made contact, both of them changed forms and screamed, pain palpable in their voices. One of them fell to the ground and the other backed away frantically.

"Betrayal," Sebastian said lowly. "As they betrayed in life, so they are betrayed now. Each of them takes a form not their own for the majority of the time – their form is the loved one of another, and that other takes the form of a loved one of their own. But if they dare touch – even the tiniest bit of skin – agony pervades their forms and their true faces are revealed."

He sounded entirely too delighted by this.

"And if there is more contact?" Ciel asked quietly, shaken and ill.

Sebastian turned Ciel's head in another direction, where a pair embraced each other with a delighted cry. Lovers, perhaps? But as Ciel watched, their embrace broke apart, voices cracking in the cries that followed. Both of them fell to the ground and Ciel paled as he looked.

Their flesh, where they had made contact, was burned away, the skin around it blackened and cracked and bleeding. They lay there, shaking and screaming, occasionally knocking into each other only to shrink away as the contact only caused more agony. Ciel couldn't tear his eyes away, horrified even beyond being sick, frozen in place.

Sebastian broke the spell as he laid a hand on Ciel's shoulder. "I believe that is quite enough for one day, Young Master," he said quietly. Ciel did not move to resist as he was, once again, guided out of the cave, down the endless halls and finally, into the light. The entire trip passed in a blur for Ciel; his mind was replaying the 'death' of the wrathful soul, and the agony of the would-be lovers. Over and over again, stuck in a loop.

"What has been seen cannot be unseen," added Sebastian.

Ciel did not reply.

Before he knew it, they had returned to the manor, and darkness had fallen over the countryside. Everyone else appeared to be asleep; they encountered no one else as Sebatian carried his master to his bedroom. Ciel made no move to either help or resist as Sebastian prepared him for bed. Finally, though, as he lay down, he looked at Sebastian and nodded once.

"It's still no escape to enter a devil's stomach," he grumbled halfheartedly.

An amused smile lit Sebastian's face. "Of course not, my lord."

Ciel turned over and closed his eyes, the images of the souls in Hell, desperate and crying for help, for mercy, etched on the inside of his eyelids, and Sebastian's voice from mere minutes ago echoed in his head: _What has been seen cannot be unseen._

The punishment fits the crime, he assumed. And there were few crimes greater than to sell your soul to the devil; he supposed it was only fitting that that merited the greatest punishment of all.

He supposed Sebastian thought that it was funny that he had brought another punishment on himself by breaking another rule: Going to Hell while still alive, the results of which were a consequence in and of themselves.

He would have to see about punishing the demon for that.

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**Alright, then. That's that. My 'Inferno' assignment - we had to create (or steal) a guide, a main, and create our own Inferno, aka Hell. We're doing Dante's Inferno in Advanced Literature, obviously. Please review!**


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